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NRN editors discuss Chick-fil-A mobile lanes, Toast's new CEO and Taco TuesdayNRN editors discuss Chick-fil-A mobile lanes, Toast's new CEO and Taco Tuesday

Plus hear from Mark Eason, Hickory Tavern CEO.

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

September 8, 2023

 

This week, on the Extra Serving podcast, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about Chick-fil-A’s mobile order pick up lanes.

This week, Chick-fil-A announced it would be upping its number of mobile drive-thru lanes. Chick-fil-A has had a tough time opening new units because towns and cities know what it means for them: lots of traffic and disruptions. These new mobile lanes, having been through a successful test, could take the pressure off municipalities that have had to work around the long lines at Chick-fil-A drive-thrus.

Also, Toast got a new CEO this week. In light of the 99-cent fee controversy of earlier this summer, the company is seemingly rebranding from the C-suite down. What does this mean for the restaurant technology brand and is this just smoke and mirrors?

Finally, Taco Bell is taking Taco Tuesday to the next level. After Taco John’s was “bullied” into giving up their rights to the phrase, Taco Bell is inviting 20,000 Mexican restaurants across the country to participate in the biggest Taco Tuesday celebration ever. Is part of this to cover the fact that Taco Bell was painted in a bad light amid its tactics to win the war against Taco John’s?

This week’s guest is Mark Eason, former Firebirds Wood Fired Grill CEO and current Hickory Tavern CEO.

 

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About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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